Salisbury, NC – For Drew Weaver, the vast majority of days were spent grinding on the golf course or the driving range, worrying about swing plane and perfecting a sport that has never been perfected. When Cathy Weaver was diagnosed with breast cancer last December, those hours used on pars and birdies were rendered less important. At the eGolf Tour's Bolle Classic, Weaver has utilized a clear head and a stellar long game to put himself atop the leaderboard at 19-under 194, just 18 holes away from his first professional title.

Beginning the third round trailing 36-hole leader Lee Williams by three shots, Weaver played flawless golf on the Donald Ross-designed Country Club of Salisbury layout, posting eight birdies against 10 pars for a round of 63 amidst perfect weather on Friday.

"I had a bunch of good numbers out there today," said Weaver of his approach shot yardages. "So I was able to just go ahead and make confident swings. It was nice to play a stress-free round."

An outward nine of 4-under 31 put Weaver's name close to the top of the tournament leaderboard, but it was the closing stretch featuring four birdies in his last seven holes that solidified his spot at the top. A closing birdie at the par-4 18th would be the icing on the proverbial cake for Weaver, who had just assumed his first 54-hole lead as a professional.

"I stayed narrow with my focus out there today," said Weaver. "You're going to have to go low this week to get into contention, and thankfully I was able to do that."

When Weaver joined the eGolf Tour for 2010, a lot was expected early on from one of amateur golf's top players over the last three years.

A standout career at Virginia Tech was punctuated by a historic win in the 2007 British Amateur Championship, becoming the first American to win in nearly 30 years. From there, Weaver would earn invitations to four professional events in 2008, including The Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open. A T40 finish at the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black put the cordial High Point, NC native in countless living rooms, and a spot on the prestigious United States Walker Cup team later that summer cemented him as one of the world's most recognizable amateur golfers.

But in professional golf, accolades and accomplishments get washed away as a clean slate is provided for each and every player – regardless of pedigree. This was a fact not lost on Weaver.

"You figure it out at some point, that everyone can play out here," said Weaver. "We have 204 players in the field each week, and literally everyone has a chance to win, but I can't worry about what everyone else is doing. I finally realized that."

A slow start to his 2010 season featuring back-to-back missed cuts gradually gave way to better play with T26 and T14 starts in his third and fourth events, respectively. It wasn't until the tour's HGM Hotels Classic two weeks ago that the light seemed to come on for him. Rounds of 66-67-72-66—271 gave Weaver his first top-10, a T6.

"It helps to know you have to play aggressive on this level," he said. "When I realized that, I knew I could just play my own game and it might just be good enough."

For Weaver, being able to trust his game has resulted in stellar play this week. Being able to spend time at home with his mom Cathy has allowed him to keep some perspective at the young age of 23.

In December of 2009, Cathy Weaver was diagnosed with breast cancer, and chemotherapy was immediately scheduled for the spring of 2010. While Weaver was struggling with his game, his mom was fighting for her life. Scorecards, standings and golf in general took a mental backseat for Weaver, as daily thoughts drifted home as opposed to his game.

"It was tough to balance everything when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. There are a lot of things on your mind besides golf," an open and honest Weaver said after his round. "It forced me to take a bigger perspective."

With his mom undergoing a second planned surgery yesterday, Weaver opted to stay at home this week in High Point, roughly 45 minutes from Salisbury. Keeping family close by has been a big aid as he is not kept at a distance with so much going on in his world.

"My mind is in a good place," Weaver said. "Her surgery went well yesterday and she is doing well. There are so many things that are more important than golf."

Lee WilliamsIndeed it is hard to fathom enduring the frustration of golf when a loved one is enduring so much more, but Weaver said that his mom wants him to play. Always his biggest fan, Cathy Weaver has watched her son compete a few times this season with the aid of a spectator cart.

An appreciative son trying to win one for mom, Weaver has done an impeccable job remaining level-headed through it all.

When asked if he would have played this week had the event not been close to home, a usually talkative Weaver had to think for a second before answering.

"That would have been a tough call," he said. "Maybe, but my mind would not have been there completely."

Lee Williams, himself a standout amateur just five years ago with two Walker Cup nods in 2003 and 2005, did not slouch off a bit in round three. The former Auburn Tiger posted a 4-under 67 to get to 18-under for the event and one behind Weaver.

A par-birdie-eagle start to his round immediately vaulted Williams further into the lead at 17-under for the tournament, but his fast start would quickly slow down with bogeys on Nos. 5 and 13, the latter being a reachable par-5.

Tommy BiershenkA closing birdie at No. 18 put him one step closer to catching Weaver on the day and even one step closer to finally capturing his first eGolf Tour title. The Alexander City, AL native's last win came at the 2008 Alabama Open.

In third place, two shots behind Weaver, is longtime eGolf Tour player and former Nationwide Tour player Tommy Biershenk of Boiling Springs, SC. The former Clemson Tiger standout has rounds 68-63-65—196 this week and is yet again in position to capture his third tour title.

A streak of three missed cuts from mid-March through early-April put Biershenk on the verge of hanging up the clubs, but torrid play since that missed cut has him eyeing the winner's circle yet again.

In his last four starts, the easy-going Biershenk has three top-5 finishes, including a T2 effort at the HGM Hotels Classic. To put his play into perspective, in his last two tournaments, coupled with his first three rounds this week, Biershenk is 52-under par. The law of averages certainly favors a Biershenk win sometime soon, and it might just be tomorrow.

The final round of the Bolle Classic will begin at 8:00 AM at the Country Club of Salisbury on Saturday morning. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.